Modernsoulsucks

In future John I'd use "spellchecker" . Morons is spelt "M-O-R-O-N-S", not "Topdjs" Curly,Larry and Moe I assume. ROD

Kinda butting in here but ages ago I was trying to post a scan of the Tamiko Jones issue. Just had some help from stepdaughter so I hope this now works. ROD

"Girl of my dreams" UK Duke [i think] Anyone got a Minty copy for sale. Ta ROD

I've had this LP and was very disappointed. As far as I remember hadn't most or all the tracks been re-mixed with "disco" backing. ROD

"'Two step' is a term, and I feel that I have enough spent enough time on the BAS (Black American Scene) to have a view, describes a time when venues, and their jocks, began playing tracks in the vein of Keni Burke's - 'Rising To The Top' (easy target), Bobby Womacks - 'How Could You Break My Heart' (Ralph Tee's beautifully obvious 12"), Keith Barrow, Harold Melvin's - 'Prayin' etc etc... This period, which was post Northern/Modern, was instigated by movers and shakers on the scene at the time (Searling/Edwards/Rose at al) was borne of a love for deeper, heavier and more refined productions - tracks that had been appreciated from the home and the heart, but had never been given a real forum on the dancefloor - it was almost a real adult reaction against everything that had gone before. Richard's - 'Halfway House' - Blackburn - 'Parkers' - Manchester, 'The Cricket Club' - Earlestown and a millenia of local events made it real." At the risk of being tROUNCEd your description of the two-step phenomena, quoted above, as a NW based musical progression "instigated" by Richard etc is just way off the mark. Two-step does not describe any time period but was a term ,like "Northern" which described a musical style and identifiable scene with it's origin and base in the South and predominantly amongst the Black community in London arising out of the reggae sound system audience. Basically ballads with a beat which is why "Prayin" is not a two-step track. That Richard and others picked up on it and broke it to a wider audience in the North is not in doubt but my point was that those who were into the modern side of the Northern scene took a while to latch on to it. I think I did say there were exceptions but usually the response in the shop was that two-step was too slow. Understandable, when modern Northern sellers at the time were 45s like Record Player and Split Decision Band. They're just poles apart. I don't know why you appear to be unhappy that two-step began with the sound systems. Victor who was an early "mover and shaker" and the guy who introduced me to it was recently on JM's show on Solar giving an overview of the history and development of the scene from his beginnings within the reggae scene. Finally your early morning posts come across as rather patronising and confrontational. My observations are taken from actually listening to and selling two-step and Northern at the time and if that is too passive an involvement for you then turning up the odd unknown gem too. I suggest you get more sleep,mate. ROD

List updated. Anymore for anymore before I try Ebay. Looking for M or M- ska/rocksteady if anyone has any to trade. ROD

I gotta agree with Tony there and can maybe add a bit of background as to maybe why 2-step did begin to feature at places like Parker's. John Anderson had opened "Expansions" run by Dean in Manchester and Dave Withers and I had joined forces in "Out of the Past" . Dave, Dean and John were well aware of the London 2-step scene by around '87 and a lot of the London guys [Victor,Stanley,Adam,Malcolm] were coming North and buying up 70's albums for not much money and re-selling down South. In '88 when our shop started Northern was in the doldrums and to make a living we had to focus on something that was relatively easy to track down in the USA for which there was a consistent demand and so we concentrated on the 2-step market. A bit of a steep learning curve for a 60's dinosaur like myself but luckily the music does have a very identifiable sound and at the time there were tons of albums lying around in the shops/warehouses in the USA. Spending three months at a time in the US we musta sent back thousands of albums that were either in-demand titles or had a track in that vein, plus of course the rarer 45s like Carl Hall,James Nelson,Arnold Blair etc We did the record fairs down London and we got mobbed. I think the table collapsed one time. Where I disagree with Barry is that it wasn't Northern/modern fans buying the stuff [with a few exceptions like Dave Ripoles] but mainly London-based guys who as Tony says were also into their reggae. In fact given the choice between JR Bailey LP on MAM and that Record Player 45 the Northern modern guys would go for the latter everytime. That was my first realisation that Northernmodernsoul does really suck!! Richard most likely "discovered" the genre from his association with John and the fact that he was a pretty regular customer at our shop for a couple of years and we would play him whatever the guys in London were keen to get hold of. I also tend to think that the 2-step guys played a very large part in the evolution of the crossover phenomena as it was them asking for Jesse James, Bobby Dukes,Jean Wells, Debbie Taylor etc long before I noticed any Northern interest. ROD

Hopefully the Kings Go Forth material will recieve much wider recognition than getting plays on the northern soul scene which whether it does or not is pretty irrelevant in the great scheme of things So irrelevant that the 45 seems to be aimed directly at us!!! I gotta agree with James that this is a great record. As is "One day" too. As Cliff says there are thousands of great records but just because it doesn't fall into some imaginary Top whatever as alluded to by Chalky doesn't diminish the quality or the obvious effort that has gone into the production to recreate IMO an authentic late 60's/early 70's sound. There are plenty of quality 60's records that have been forgotten or don't do it on the dance floor but that doesn't mean they were a novelty at the time. Im sure James is not considering playing this six times a night in his spot but his enthusiasm has led to hyperbole and he's completely correct in saying that there are records getting aired now that could be dropped in favour of this 45. I don't know about Cliff's spots but I notice that Sam appears to be playing some instr. to "Backstabbers" . Wow!!! I bet that's a gem!! ROD

Got your email. Replied thanks. ROD

Soul Energy" WDJ Misty Graham CRS M- Modern, old Wigan spin [5] Al Johnson "Im back for more" UK CBS EX [5] Karl Tarleton "Along came you" UNI DJ EX [20] Barbara Mercer "Hey" GW Ex [5] Vibrations "Canadian Sunset" OKEH DJ VG+ [5] Forest Hairston "We go to pieces" M- VINEY [10] Bob Wilson "Suzy serenade" WDJ Ex Sound Stage 7 [5] David Morris "Stoned on love" M- RADNOR [60] Admirations "Wait till I get..." One-derful VG+ [5] Girls Three "Baby I want you" WDJ CHESS M- [bit of a water stain on label but not too noticeable][10] Mandells "Do'in the look" WDJ M JUBILEE [25] [75 on JM's site] Innocent Bystanders "Frantic Escape" DJ ATLANTIC M- [20] Jamo Thomas "I spy..." TRANS WORLD M- [Canada] [10] Uptights "Academy awards of love" DJ MALA Ex Girlie stomper from years ago[15] Chantels "World of soul" Soul Kitchen M- Unknown? Good instrumental[40] Last copy Robert Moore "Jo-ann" De-Luxe DJ M- Good semi-known [25] Incredibles "I cant get over losing....." Audio Arts Ex [10] Freddie Scott "Hey girl" VG+ UK COLPIX [10] Superbs "Better get your own....." Dore 704 DJ M- [20] Entertainers IV "My garden of Eden" Dore 802 VG+ [slight click during track] [25] Sugar Pie de Santo "Be happy" Soul Clock WDJ Ex [40] Eddie&Ernie "I can't do it" Eastern Ex [10] John Ladrew "What's the matter with me" Roulette DJ Ex [15] Artistics "Price of love" Brunswick DJ VG+[10] Gino Washington "Like my baby" instr Do De Re VG[5] Showmen "The honey house" DJ Swan Ex [8] Bobby Miller "Im for the girls" VG Constellation [5] Bobby Sanders "The way I feel" Pick-A-Hit Ex [400] Decisions "I can't forget about you" Ex A&M UK [20] Tami Lynn "Im gonna run away from you" PS French Atlantic Ex/Ex [5] Kennard Gardner "Do the skin" Dore VG+ [slight tear near centre hole] [5] Delta 67807 Entertainers IIII "People don't look no more" Ex DORE [delta 59379] [5] Lee Rogers "My one and only" M- D-Town DJ [10] Ernie Andrews "Fine young girl" VG+ Capitol [15] scuffs Embers "It ain't necessary" Ex Bell DJ [15] On reverse paper pressed into grooves but doesn't affect play i.e. no clicks Those graded VG+ have surface marks or wear but no scratches and are a long way from f**ked. Not happy,just return. Cheque or Paypal [plus 4%] Modrod52@aol.com ROD

What the f**k do you think you're all doing!! Im trying to find some 45s here!! ROD

Just started to collect these. Interested in any I've not got. If you have any for sale in MINTY nick please drop me a PM. Will swap for any items in my "trades" ad although not too much left in there now. I have 176, 223, 281,284,291,3002,3037. Hardly any,so loads missing somebody may have on here Thanks ROD

You send it back right away by registered post, especially as I see you already have it!! It's not just that though is it. It's the stuff you got rid of to get it when there was no need. Get your money back and save it for next big want and don't fritter it away on £500 45s!!!!! ROD

Just been thinking about this problem and it seems to me that both you and Lenny are happy to get it sorted and avoid naming and shaming,which I understand, but if you do go down that route doesn't that leave the next buyers from these same sources having to go through the same hassle if they receive a dud from the sellers? ROD

Probably my poor use of English and sentence construction,Richie. I know you didn't refer to Soul Source but my point is that whilst I know I 've never sold you or Lenny [or anyone hopefully on here] a bad 45,and you and Lenny know that too[as we've never had any dealings!!], by confining the complaint to generalities other people on here can only wonder who these bad sellers are. When Lenny complains about his deal, I and others could assume it was you or say Ian Cunliffe [Hi Ian,only an example] and completely disregard any 45s that you or Ian have for sale in the future. It's rather like those lists of "cowboy" traders that local councils sometimes make available and maybe if you don't get satisfaction there is some onus on you, and the rest of us in such cases, to warn others by naming and shaming. Without that other buyers may have similar problems in the future and decent sellers lose out due to overcaution. Maybe there needs to be a bit tighter control of the sales forum so that where certain sellers or buyers for that matter fail to live up to their end of the deal then we have some kinda blacklist to refer to. ROD

Whilst sympathising with Richie and agreeing with both Lars and Lenny I think all three are doing a great disservice to "genuine" sellers especially on this forum. I gotta be honest and say I take exception to sweeping statements which do not apply to all and must put potential buyers off any sales on here. As I sell on this site now and again I don't particularly like to be included in a general complaint which really only applies to individual cases. I suggest lads if you have had a problem,then you name names. ROD

Any offers on any others before I...... Well not sure what really to be honest. But I need just a bit of money to buy a few things. Say 20% OFF? Will also take Minty reggae trades especially Island label. ROD

Im surprised you should say that, Bob. I went on the road with him back in the early 90's for a week or so and Im pretty sure I taught him to stab old ladies in both eyes if rare Northern was in the offing. ROD

Emailed you re. Wilson 45s. Ta ROD

Isn't it Herb Ward and b-side to "Honest to goodnness"? ROD

Danni's playlist from Valencia recently The Magnificents - There Can Be a Better Way - MAMC - Demo Jimmy Mack - My World is on Fire - Palmer - Demo Rose Bastiste - Hit and Run - Revilot - Demo Donna Coleman - You're Loves Too Strong - Avin - Demo Del Larks - Job Opening Pt1 - Queen City - Demo Herbert Hunter - I Was Born to Love You - Spar - Demo The Four Perfections - I'm Not Strong Enough - Partytime - Demo The Demures - Raining Teardrops - Brunswick - Demo The Topics - Hey Girl (Where are you going) Chadwick - Demo The Ambers - Another Love - Smash - Demo L. Allen - Can't We Talk it Over - Green Dolphin The Servicemen - I Need a Helping Hand - Patheway Al Williams - I Am Nothing - Palmer - Demo The Capreez - How to Make a Sad Man Glad - Sound - Demo Don Varner - Tear Stained Face - Quinvy Robby Lawson - Burning Sensation - Kyser Maurice Williams - Being Without You - Deesu Lee David - Temptation Is Calling my Name - Columbia - Demo The Ambassadors - Too Much of a Good Thing - Pee Vee Jimmy Burns - I Really Love You - Erica Billy Prophet - What Can I Do - Sue - Demo Larry Clinton - She's Wanted - Dynamo - Demo Billy Woods - Let Me Make You Happy - Sussex - Demo Bobby Freeman - I'll Never Fall In Love Again - Autumn - Demo Frankie Crocker - Ton of Dynamite - Turbo E. Rodney Jones - R & B Time Pt1 - Tuff - Demo Spencer - Searchin' For Love - Midtown - Demo Harold Andrews - Since I Talk to my Baby - HLS - Demo Joe Murphy - Soul Blue (Without you) - Vivid - Demo Margie Joseph - Medicine Bend - Stax UK Eddie Billups - Shake of That Dream - Seventy 7 - Demo Bobby Patterson - I'm In Love With You - Jetstar - Demo Johnny Nash - I'm So Glad You're my Baby - MGM - Demo Ruby Winters - Better - Stateside - Demo UK Bobby Hutton - Come See What's Left of me - Phillips - Demo Hollidays - I Lost You - Groove City Gerry Grainger - I Go to Pieces (Everytime...) Bell - Demo Richard Temple - That Beatin' Rhythm - Mirwood Er...... "Has Been" scene in UK? Vibrant and exciting abroad? Well I guess so if that means playing 45s we heard years ago. No sign of an individual stamp with this playlist. Im not denying that a lot of these 45s are good staple NS and highly collectible 45s but the future that some of you says lies abroad with the younger element looks awfully like our past from this example,which was the first I came across scrolling down "Events Lookbacks". The punters may have been up for it and enthusiastic but Im sure the crowd over here who go to local oldies nights are enjoying themselves just as much even though they may be sat around a table chatting with their mates. As for "politics" most of us don't get involved and the term itself is meaningless as it's usually some personal spat between dj's or promoters. To be blunt I don't give a f**k what they're doing in Spain,USA or Tierra del Fuego to be honest. It is NOT the Northern Scene. That is here in the UK. The rest is an imitation. Not exactly innovative or imaginative either, ROD

PM'd you back. Held for you but as you only live 10 minutes away I will have to add on the cost of electricity to run the computer to PM you when you coulda just walked round. Plus the cost of coffeee and cigarette needed to configure this email. Do you want me to post it to you or will you be getting up off your fat.......... Thank you for your desultory interest. ROD

Yes I've had another that I borrowed from Dave Withers who had it from Max Kidd I think. There were about 8 tracks on it. I think that too was the Counts but can't remember. One track was OK Northern but not great. I lent it Tim Brown to record and then sent it back to Dave. ROD

Well I disagree with you,Ian. Yes Jimmy Mack is and was hard to find but it musta been turning up since mid 70's. Probably quite a few now so 2 in one night is no big deal. I've been to plenty of places where there were more "rare" 45s than I could afford and plenty of duplicates. As for Scorpio I got in there back in 89 when raregroove/2-step thing was big. I got hundreds and hundreds of original soul albums at $2-3. Long before the re-press days. I wasn't the only one either and by the time I'd stopped going there wasn't much left in the way of 70's albums. ROD

With all due respect this is tosh. Mine's Mint and Im sure there's a couple more round here within 10 minutes walk, albeit maybe not Mint. Unless you are certain those at Sheridan's were boots I think it's highly likely that 2 can turn up on the same night. Some of these rare 45s are not that rare. It's just the demand and number of people who collect so that most disappear into collections. ROD